In today's Bulldog wrapup on technology news: Epic Games awards its first grants from a $5 million pot; Microsoft and Google unveil co-development plans for Java; Red Hat launches a new operating system for Linux in the cloud; Google to offer one phone for wireless service and it's made by Lenovo's Motorola; Google begins offering car insurance quotes.

In today's Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news: Durham-based Patheon makes a buy; the studio responsible for The Sims is shutting down; Etsy eyes an IPO; iPhones surge in popularity in China; and a look at Uber's mapping deal.

Epic Games is making the latest version of its popular Unreal game development engine free for commercial developers. But there's a caveat. Epic does get a 5-percent royalty after the first $3,000 in sales. It's the latest in a series of moves to spread the use of Unreal across the industry, from educators to commercial players.

Epic Games' Unreal development engine is one of the most popular around the world for developers of not only games but other interactive tools from entertainment to training. Its latest version, Unreal 4, is helping drive virtual reality use. Now, the Cary company is offering $5 million in grants to help developers embrace it latest tool suite. How do you get your grant?

For three decades, the Triangle has been the home to innovative, market-leading video game companies. Now RTP has a chance to see some of the best products are nominated for the new World Video Game Hall of Fame. So get off the couch - and nominate!

In today's Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news: INC Research promotes two executives; Yahoo mulls what to do with its valuable Alibaba stake; Amazon is going Hollywood; and Nintendo drops its Club Nintendo program.

The Obama administration is on the verge of proposing long-awaited rules for commercial drone operations in U.S. skies, but key decisions on how much access to grant drones are likely to come from Congress this year.

Sony says its PlayStation Network is back online after three days of disruptions that began on Christmas. But heavy traffic might continue to cause problems for customers seeking to play their favorite games, the company said Sunday.

In the latest Bulldog roundup of life science and technology news: CVS and Rite Aid disable Apple Pay; FCC postpones spectrum auction to 2016; Dark Souls 2 wins Game of the Year at UK's Golden Joystick Awards; Google's Nest Acquires Smart Home Hub Startup Revolv; and the Queen of England sends her first royal tweet.

Blake Collins, the CEO of online publishing startup PencilBlue, tackles the issue of alleged corruption in the video game media and the on-going debate sparked by the #GamersGate movement. Critics are "so intent on protecting their cash cow that, in an attempt to squash the movement, they've negated any shred of journalistic integrity they might have had," he writes at ExitEvent.

Epic Games is partnering with academia to spread the reach of its latest game engine technology, Unreal Engine 4. Unreal is already one of the world's most popular game creation technologies, used by companies worldwide and across multiple platforms. WRAL TechWire Insider John Gauidosi reports in an exclusive interview with Unreal's general manager.

Epic Games was never able to bring its mega-selling hit "Gears of War" to the big screen, but the story may have a happier ending for its Infinity Blade. The series, developed for mobile devices to run on Apple's iOS, has sold more than 50 million copies. The game itself is ending but there may be new life for it in Hollywood. John Gaudiosi has the exclusive details for WRAL TechWire Insiders.